Acute hypercortisolemia exerts depot-specific effects on abdominal and femoral adipose tissue function
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Manolopoulos, Konstantinos N
O'Reilly, Michael W
Bujalska, Iwona J
Tomlinson, Jeremy W
Arlt, Wiebke
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Context:
Glucocorticoids have pleiotropic metabolic functions, and acute glucocorticoid excess affects fatty acid metabolism, increasing systemic lipolysis. Whether glucocorticoids exert adipose tissue depot-specific effects remains unclear.
Objective:
To provide an in vivo assessment of femoral and abdominal adipose tissue responses to acute glucocorticoid administration.
Design and Outcome Measures:
Nine healthy male volunteers were studied on two occasions, after a hydrocortisone infusion (0.2 mg/kg/min for 14 hours) and a saline infusion, respectively, given in randomized double-blind order. The subjects were studied in the fasting state and after a 75-g glucose drink with an in vivo assessment of femoral adipose tissue blood flow (ATBF) using radioactive xenon washout and of lipolysis and glucose uptake using the arteriovenous difference technique. In a separate study (same infusion design), eight additional healthy male subjects underwent assessment of fasting abdominal ATBF and lipolysis only. Lipolysis was assessed as the net release of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) from femoral and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue.
Results:
Acute hypercortisolemia significantly increased basal and postprandial ATBF in femoral adipose tissue, but the femoral net NEFA release did not change. In abdominal adipose tissue, hypercortisolemia induced substantial increases in basal ATBF and NEFA release.
Conclusions:
Acute hypercortisolemia induces differential lipolysis and ATBF responses in abdominal and femoral adipose tissue, suggesting depot-specific glucocorticoid effects. Abdominal, but not femoral, adipose tissue contributes to the hypercortisolemia-induced systemic NEFA increase, with likely contributions from other adipose tissue sources and intravascular triglyceride hydrolysis.
Glucocorticoids have pleiotropic metabolic functions, and acute glucocorticoid excess affects fatty acid metabolism, increasing systemic lipolysis. Whether glucocorticoids exert adipose tissue depot-specific effects remains unclear.
Objective:
To provide an in vivo assessment of femoral and abdominal adipose tissue responses to acute glucocorticoid administration.
Design and Outcome Measures:
Nine healthy male volunteers were studied on two occasions, after a hydrocortisone infusion (0.2 mg/kg/min for 14 hours) and a saline infusion, respectively, given in randomized double-blind order. The subjects were studied in the fasting state and after a 75-g glucose drink with an in vivo assessment of femoral adipose tissue blood flow (ATBF) using radioactive xenon washout and of lipolysis and glucose uptake using the arteriovenous difference technique. In a separate study (same infusion design), eight additional healthy male subjects underwent assessment of fasting abdominal ATBF and lipolysis only. Lipolysis was assessed as the net release of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) from femoral and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue.
Results:
Acute hypercortisolemia significantly increased basal and postprandial ATBF in femoral adipose tissue, but the femoral net NEFA release did not change. In abdominal adipose tissue, hypercortisolemia induced substantial increases in basal ATBF and NEFA release.
Conclusions:
Acute hypercortisolemia induces differential lipolysis and ATBF responses in abdominal and femoral adipose tissue, suggesting depot-specific glucocorticoid effects. Abdominal, but not femoral, adipose tissue contributes to the hypercortisolemia-induced systemic NEFA increase, with likely contributions from other adipose tissue sources and intravascular triglyceride hydrolysis.
Date Issued
2017-04-01
Date Acceptance
2017-02-13
Citation
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM), 2017, 102 (4), pp.1091-1101
ISSN
0021-972X
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
1091
End Page
1101
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM)
Volume
102
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
This article has been published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28323916
PII: 3001061
Subjects
BLOOD-FLOW
BODY-FAT
CARBOHYDRATE-METABOLISM
CORTISOL
Endocrinology & Metabolism
GLUCOCORTICOIDS
GROWTH-HORMONE
INSULIN-RESISTANCE
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
LIPOLYSIS
Science & Technology
STIMULATION
X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2017-02-16